SAME BONES: 1999 LOTUS ELISE AND 2008 TESLA ROADSTER

The Elise was one of the most important models in Lotus Cars history and a return to form for this British sports car maker, selling strongly through two generations and numerous updates over 25 years. It’s now a bona fide modern classic that changes hands at ever-increasing prices, both in the U.S. and abroad. The Hemmings Marketplace currently hosts a pair of related open-top two-seaters that originated on Potash Lane in Hethel, England; which would you rather park in your driveway?

1999 Lotus Elise 111S

The original Elise, retroactively called the Series 1 (S1) by its fans, was an innovator that paired a featherweight extruded and bonded aluminum chassis with minimalist fiberglass bodywork and a removable cloth roof. It was powered by a Rover-sourced 1.8-liter four-cylinder mounted transversely behind the cabin, and its fully independent suspension provided surprising compliance with shocking levels of grip. A track-focused solid-roof variant called the Exige arrived in 2000 and was continued into the next generation.

This 1999 example is a 111S, which used a Variable Valve Control version of the twin-cam Rover engine making 143 hp and 128 lb-ft of torque, respectively up 25 and 6 from the standard Elise unit. This output was handled with stronger brakes behind wider (at the rear) OZ Racing alloy wheels, and the body and interior were set apart with an egg-crate grille, taller rear spoiler, and carbon-fiber dash inserts, among other changes.

Our feature Elise, currently located in Florida, is coming out of long-term ownership and is said to have been driven just 28,000 miles from new. It sports five-point harness seatbelts and a host of upgrade modifications that enhance its performance.

From the Hemmings Classified ad:

Left Hand drive

Exceptional conditon

Original paint

Accident free

Same owner since 2007

Garage kept

New timing belt & water pump

Pro-Alloy aluminum radiator

EliseParts short shifter

EliseParts shift cables

Elise Sport 190 factory roll bar

EliseParts remote thermostat

Sport 160 throttle body

Hurricane air intake

Oil to water heat exchanger from EliseParts

EliseParts exhaust

Bilstein Elise S2 Shocks

Willans harnesses

Original Owner’s manual & shop manual

2008 Tesla Roadster

Lotus’s Series 2 Elise was a heavy update of the original, partially bankrolled by General Motors, and it gave birth to numerous spinoff models that worked with the basic aluminum/composite architecture to create new cars. Among those were the sub-2,000-pound Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 duo developed under General Motors and sold from 2000 through 2005; the 1,244-hp GM V8-powered, 270-plus-mph-capable Hennessey Venom GT; a proposed all-electric Dodge EV sports car ultimately dubbed the Circuit; and the first model from a new American automaker called Tesla.

Rather than a gas-fueled internal-combustion engine behind the seats, the U.K./U.S.-assembled, $98,000 Tesla Roadster was powered by a 375-volt AC induction motor making 248 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque, drawing energy from 6,831 lithium-ion battery cells. That shove and twist went to the rear wheels through a two-speed transmission. Despite the carbon-fiber-bodied Tesla outweighing a contemporary Elise by nearly 800 pounds (note, the 2,700-pound Roadster remained incredibly lightweight for an electric vehicle), “Car and Driver” tested it to 60 mph in a fleet 5.0 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 13.3 seconds at 104 mph.

This Roadster –VIN #99, the second-to-final “Signature 100” limited edition– hails from the first year of Tesla production and it’s one of fewer than 2,500 Roadsters built through 2012. It’s traveled a bit further than its Lotus sibling at 30,897 miles, and currently resides in Arizona. The unmodified car has been repaired/maintained and has been prominently shown, representing a prime example of Tesla history.

From the Hemmings Classified Ad:

This Roadster carries an incredible backstory that ties directly to Tesla’s early days. VIN 99 was originally allocated to the owner of Tesla’s first-ever commercial sales and service space in Santa Monica, a lease secured after a personal appeal from Elon Musk, who arrived with a satchel full of patents to make his case. The condition for the lease approval? The lessor had to receive a Signature One Hundred Roadster, and since VIN 100 was already spoken for, he was given VIN 99. As an additional request, the car was painted in a one-off custom green to match his 1931 Bugatti race car in France. This distinctive hue remained unique until Tesla introduced Lightning Green in 2011 on just 33 cars. More recently, this Roadster underwent internal battery sheet repairs in 2020 and was later selected for display at a Tesla/SpaceX event at the Petersen Automotive Museum in late 2022, further solidifying its place in Tesla’s storied legacy.

The post Same Bones: 1999 Lotus Elise and 2008 Tesla Roadster appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.

2026-01-08T20:02:32Z